by Sam Juliano
The darkest Christmas season ever in the nation’s consciousness has come to pass, and the words “unspeakable,” “unconscionable” and “inconsolable” immediately come to mind, if indeed anyone can ever come to terms with anything connected to this unbearable sadness. My site colleague Maurizio Roca in a telling e mail said with haunting simplicity: Better left this tragedy unspoken of. The lovely Laurie Buchanan in Crystal Lake, Illinois, send me a deeply-moving e mail, that looks at this terrible act as one ‘close to home.’ Teachers remain shell-shocked, and life over the last four days has been understandably compromised, as many almost feel guilty to do anything, much less entertain themselves. There is beauty and heartbreak in this life, and what happen in a Constitution State elementary school this past week is really something that can never be forgotten even as life must go on. For those who would prefer not to even mention this horrifying episode, I more than understand. I didn’t want to say a word here, but anything that comes after it is virtually meaningless. This may be true of any tragic ocurrence, but there can nothing quite as devastating as the grief that so many must endure for the remainder of their lives.
Yes life goes on. And one must find a way to lessen their pain and sadness by attempting to focus on matters that will at least offer a temporary reprieve. Over in Ipswitch, east of London, the wonderful Judy Geater at Movie Classics is working hard on her incomparable Dickens December series that has not only enhanced our appreciation of timeless classics, but has unearthed some rarities that deserve referencing. Judy as usual has imparted her expertise and passion on one of the worthiest of subjects. Our beloved friend Dee Dee reported this week some further progress on the signings of the “John Garfield petition,” a project being fostered by the tireless blogger and her friends Barbara La Motta and Lori Moore. The corresponding link can be negotiated on the sidebar under the acting icon’s photo.
It never seemed like we’d ever get there but here we are – the final five days of the comedy countdown after over four months of weekday posting. By way of quality of writing, readers interest, page views and extensive comments this project has been a huge success (much as the musical countdown was in 2011) and the blogging community deserves credit for giving it their best day in and day out. The final week will no doubt feature some of the very best presentations of all, and I urge readers to take note. I will offer a final round-up next week. Today’s post will cover the #5 selection, and on Friday we will unveil #1, with #4, #3 and #2 slated for Tuesday through Thursday. A technical gliche will unfortunately prevent us from presenting the individual vote placements for the final five.
A special screening of an ultra rarity, Jean-Luc Godard’s King Lear will be offered at the Tribeca screening room on Wednesday, Dec. 19, and I plan on being in attendance. I’ve been informed that Bob Clark, who originally appraised me of this event, will also be there. I have plans to see both Amour and Zero Dark Thirty before the end of the week as well, as both have their NYC openings on Wednesday. As we get close and closer to the holiday week, people continue to mob malls and various outlets, while on-line purchasing has been brisk. Giants football fans must wake up and smell the coffee after Sunday’s 34-0 disaster against the Atlanta Falcons. Geez, at least our friend Drew McIntosh must be smiling. Ha!
Lucille and I saw only two films in theaters this week, as we were busy with concerts and birthdays. Young Sammy played trumpet as part of the Cliffside Park High School Christmas concert on Wednesday night and the whole family was on hand to witness this fabulous holiday concert and choral show in the school auditorium. On Thursday we drove over to Manhattan to meet up with our old friend retired teacher Rene Kessler, who was celebrated her 65th birthday in front of a small gathering at Sardi’s Restaurant in Manhattan. During the visit we strolled over to 49th Street to take a look at the huge Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, competing with wall-to-wall people in the beautiful ornamented Radio City Music Hall area. We had a fine dinner, though again as was the case with just about everyone, teh night was darkened and compromised by the sad discussion of the day’s tragic morning shootings.
Lucille, Sammy and I saw (with the full brood for Middle-Earth and Broadway Bob and his mom for HYDE PARK):
Hyde Park on the Hudson * 1/2 (Saturday night)
The Hobbit *** 1/2 (Sunday morning)
While there is no denying that the first of three HOBBIT installments from Peter Jackson treads much of the same ground as the LOTR films, and the narrative possibilities are becoming exhausted, there is some magic left, aided by an extension of hi-def and an emotionally rousing climax with the birds that achieves some soaring lyricism, with the assistance of some awe-inspiring music from LOTR veteran Howard Shore. It does boggle the mind that there will be three films based on the novel -and there is a fair amount of tedium to accompany some of the fantastic sequences, but the new Bilbo, Martin Freeman is quite effective, especially in the extended cave segment with Golem, and Elijah Wood is there for a brief but welcome cameo. I know that there are some who can’t wait to write the obituary to this series, but it won’t happen this time. For the record, the best film of the LOTR trilogy is THE RETURN OF THE KING, even though all the awards will always have others rallying to FELLOWSHIP and TWO TOWERS.
God, you’d think President Franklin D. Roosevelt deserved a better film than what he got with HYDE PARK ON THE HUDSON, no? Well all he got here was a caricatured performance by Bill Murray, some unfocused film making and some lame narrative choices that mostly provided low-brow humor and poor pacing. We did get to see that practically everyone during that era, even in the royalty was a chain smoker, and Roosevelt himself was an annoying and pushy bore. I did get a good laugh though at the hot dog scene near the end with King George VI.
I copied last week’s scroll and will make some changes as the night wears on like I did last week:
Judy Geater’s magnificent ‘December Dickens’ series continues to gain glorious traction at Movie Classics with daily updates, and one of the latest is a fabulous review of the classic Hollywood 1935 adaptation of “A Tale of Two Cities”: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/a-tale-of-two-cities-jack-conway-1935/
Jon Warner has penned a fabulous essay on Spielberg’s “Lincoln” at Films Worth Watching: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2012/12/lincoln-2012-directed-by-steven.html
Samuel Wilson at Mondo 70 has the latest entry in his terrific ‘Pre-Code Parade” series up with “Winner Takes All,” an early Cagney: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2012/12/pre-code-parade-winner-take-all-1932.html
Laurie Buchanan is leading up at Speaking From The Heart with her final post about her unforgettable Mexican trip, titled “I Saw the Face of God”: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/i-saw-the-face-of-god/
Joel Bocko at Lost in the Movies is leading up with a superlative post on “Neon Genesis Evangelion, Episode 6, Rei II”: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2012/12/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-6-rei-ii.html
At Twenty Four Frames John Greco has posted a great piece on 1933′s steamy pre-coder “The Story of Temple Drake”: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/the-story-of-temple-drake-1933-stephen-roberts/
Pat Perry has posted a superlative trio of capsule reviews at Doodad Kind of Town on “The Loneliest Planet,” “Sound of My Voice” and “Price Check”: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2012/11/beat-crowds-three-good-movies-you-can.html
At Ferdy on Films Roderick Heath is now leading up with a master class essay on 2012′s “Sound of my Voice”: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2012/sound-of-my-voice-2012/16860/
At The Cooler Jason Bellamy has penned a brilliant appreciative essay on Ron Fricke’s “Samsara”: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2012/11/shiny-and-new-samsara.html
Laurie Buchanan’s latest post at Speaking From The Heart asks readers to identify that moments when everything has you stretched to the limit:http://holessence.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/when-women-gather-on-the-rim/
Shubhajit Lahiri has penned a superlative capsule treatment of “The Battle of Algiers” at Cinemascope: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.in/2012/12/the-battle-of-algiers-1966.html
Tony d’Ambra leads the way at Films Noir.net for a terrific piece on the little-exposed Italian noir ‘La Bionda’: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/la-bionda-the-blonde-italy-1992.html
Jaimie Grijalba has officially launched his fantastic new site “Overlook’s Corner” with a buffo piece on Chilean cinema: http://overlookhotelfilm.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/chilean-cinema-2012-12-miguel-san-miguel/
Murderous Ink at Vermillion and One Nights has written a wholly fascinating essay on anew volume about Japanese acting icon Setsuko Hara, who is still living at age 92 in relative seclusion: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-about-setsuko-hara.html
Dean Treadway’s new post “Cinema Gallery: 30 Scenes of Loneliness” is essential for all passionate film lovers. It’s over at Filmicability: http://filmicability.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post_6.html
At the magical Creativepotager’s blog Terrill Welch is leading up with a sumptuous post titled “Reef Bay Mayne Island Observation to Painted Experience.”: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/reef-bay-mayne-island-observation-to-painted-experience/
History teacher Hokahey has written a marvelous, thought-provoking review essay on “Lincoln” at Little Worlds: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-morning-of-vote-spielbergs-history.html
Ed Howard has penned a fabulous essay on Douglas Fairbanks’s “The Black Pirate” at Only the Cinema: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-black-pirate.html
Sachin Gandhi offers up a fabulous report on the Calgary Latin Wave Festival at Scribbles and Ramblings: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2012/11/calgary-latin-wave-festival.html
Paddy Mullholland offers up a splendid capsule takedown of “The Man with the Iron Fists” at Screen on Screen: http://screenonscreen.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-man-with-iron-fists.html
David Schleicher has authored a magnificent essay on the new James Bond movie “Skyfall” at The Schleicher Spin: http://theschleicherspin.com/2012/11/15/i-fall-you-fall-we-all-fall-for-skyfall/
Weeping Sam offers up some thanks in his latest post Thanksgiving feature “Giving Thanks for Friday Music” at The Listening Ear: http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2012/11/giving-thanks-for-friday-music.html
A treasure trove of priceless reviews and listings can be accessed on the pages of The Last Lullaby, director Jeffrey Goodman’s indispensible site: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/
Dee Dee offers up petition co-founder Lori Moore’s own take on a John Garfield classic over at Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-garfield-in-nobody-lives-forever.html
Roderick Heath offers an excellent review of Oliver Stone’s latest film “Savages” at Ferdy on Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2012/savages-2012/16614/
R.D. Finch has written a splendid essay on 1965′s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” at The Movie Projector: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-spy-who-came-in-from-cold-1965.html h
Kaleem Hasan offers an engaging post at Satyamshot titled “Shahrukh in Conversation with Yash Chopra”: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/shahrukh-in-conversation-with-yash-chopra/
One of the net’s finest writers, the exceedingly talented Jason Bellamy has written a fantastic essay on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2012/09/touching-void-master.html
At Patricia’s Wisdom our friendly host has penned a terrific book review of “Televenge”: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2012/11/televenge-pamela-king-cable/
The comment section under Kevin Olson’s superlative essay on “The Master” at Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies makes this presentation a must read for film fans: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master.html
At the Coffee Messiah’s blog the indominable Michael Harford features a collage on cultivation: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2012/09/cultivate.html
Craig Kennedy has penned at terrific review on “Frankenweenie” at Living in Cinema: http://livingincinema.com/2012/10/05/frankenweenie-2012/
Stephen Russell-Gebbett has posted another thought-provoking piece, this time on ‘images inspired by paintings’ at Checking on My Sausages: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2012/11/images-inspired-by-paintings.html
David Lawrence, thjat erudite and personable educator from the U.K. features a poster of a Hammer classic at his new site Musings and Meanderings: http://1mouth2ears.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/movie-posters-1-dracula-has-risen-from-the-grave-1968/
Brandie Ashe happily announces a “Singin in the Rain” giveaway at True Classics: http://trueclassics.net/2012/08/10/singin-again-plus-a-giveaway/
Roderick Heath has posted a terrific new review of the reteaming of John Hillcoat and Nick Cave for this year’s “Lawless” at This Island Rod: thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2012/10/lawless-2012.html
J. D. LaFrance has penned a terrific piece on Tony Scott’s “The Last Boy Scout” at Radiator Heaven: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-last-boy-scout.html
The esteemed Film Doctor, a professor on Film Studies at a southern university, has written a fascinating piece on P.J. Anderson’s “The Master” at The Film Doctor: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master-s-whip-lash-8-notes.html
Adam Zanzie has posted a terrific “alternative Sight and Sound list at Icebox Movies: http://www.iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/my-alternative-sight-sound-list.html
Jason Marshall has continued his superb coverage of 1942 at Movies Over Matter with a wonderful post on his Best Actor choice for that year: Chishu Ryu: http://moviesovermatter.com/2012/08/09/chishu-ryu-in-there-was-a-father-best-actor-of-1942/
Peter Lenihan has written a superlative essay talking about two films: “Dredd” and “Savages” at The Long Voyage Home: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2012/09/double-feature-dredd-savages.html
At The Blue Vial Drew offers up “w/o” and some intriguing Fordian parallels: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2012/10/wo_5.html
At The Last Lullaby, the ever delightful filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman takes a look at part sixteen of his long running quartet series: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2012/04/favorite-four-part-sixteen.html
Stephen Russell-Gebbett at Checking on my Sausages again offers up a brillinatly-creative feature on ‘Sport as the Perfect Fiction”: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2012/08/sport-is-perfect-fiction.html
Tony Dayoub takes a look at the summer’s Barnes and Noble 50% off sale for Criterion collectots at Cinema Viewfinder: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2012/07/criterion-summer.html
Greg Ferrara at Cinema Styles talks about the Colorado shootings in a moving feature: http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-shooting-in-colorado.html
Jeopardy Girl talks about her “least favorite film” at her wonderful new series at “The Continuing Saga of Jeopardy Girl”: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/2-my-least-favourite-film/
Dave Van Poppel has a tremendous batch of short reviews up at Visions of Non Fiction on the Toronto Film Festival:
http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.co.uk/
